GameStop CEO: “Nintendo’s Got a Few First Party Titles Up Their Sleeve”

It all hinges on the games.

While the Nintendo Wii U hasn’t exactly been setting hardware sales charts on fire like its predecessor, GameStop CEO J. Paul Raines is fairly optimistic that that cynicism will subside when the games start rolling in.

Speaking to GIBiz, Raines stated that “This industry has a lot of cynicism and people love to say stuff isn’t going to work, but we think the Wii U is a real console that’s been disappointing for a couple months, but we think there’s more there when the first-party titles come out. Nintendo’s got a few up their sleeve.”

This seems to fit in with the stance of Nintendo France’s Philippe Lavoué. He stated recently that “lowering the price, without any compelling software will produce nothing. Our responsibility is to provide a solid games catalogue.” He also provided the example of the 3DS, which started slowly but picked up once the games rolled in.

So for now, all hopes hinge on the release of the next Mario, Zelda, Super Smash Bros and others.